Center for Clinical Studies, Webster, Texas, USA.
Dermatol Online J. 2022 Oct 15;28(5). doi: 10.5070/D328559242.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is one of the most prevalent infections worldwide. It consists of two types: HSV1 and HSV2 that primarily cause orofacial and genital disease. However, both types can infect any site. Rarely, HSV infection of the hand occurs and is often documented as herpetic whitlow. Herpetic whitlow is primarily recognized as an HSV infection of the digits and thus HSV infection of the hand is largely associated with infection of the fingers. This is problematic, as HSV is often left off the differential diagnosis of non-digit hand pathology. We present two cases of non-digit HSV infection of the hand that were misdiagnosed as bacterial infections. As our cases and others demonstrate, the lack of knowledge that HSV infections can occur on the hand leads to confusion and delayed diagnosis among a myriad of providers. Therefore, we seek to introduce the term "herpes manuum" to increase awareness that HSV can appear on the hand in locations aside from the digits and thus differentiate it from herpetic whitlow. By doing so, we hope to encourage more timely diagnosis of HSV hand infections to decrease associated morbidity.
单纯疱疹病毒（HSV）是全球最常见的感染之一。它由两种类型组成：HSV1 和 HSV2，主要引起口腔和生殖器疾病。然而，这两种类型都可以感染任何部位。手部 HSV 感染很少见，通常被记录为疱疹性瘭疽。疱疹性瘭疽主要被认为是 HSV 感染的手指，因此手部 HSV 感染主要与手指感染有关。这很成问题，因为 HSV 通常不在手部非指部病理的鉴别诊断之列。我们报告了两例手部非指部 HSV 感染的病例，这些病例被误诊为细菌感染。正如我们的病例和其他病例所表明的那样，由于缺乏 HSV 感染可能发生在手的认识，导致众多提供者感到困惑和延误诊断。因此，我们试图引入“疱疹手”一词，以提高人们的认识，即 HSV 除了手指之外，还可能在手的其他部位出现，从而将其与疱疹性瘭疽区分开来。通过这样做，我们希望鼓励更及时地诊断 HSV 手部感染，以减少相关发病率。
